Marble-shooter



A. E. MADISON.

MARBLE SHOOTER.

APPLICATION FILEDI'JAN. I4, 1919.

1,337,934. 4 Patented Apr. 20,1920.

INVE N TOR M b 45. Mad/50 1,

A TTORNEYS NETED STATES PATENT ()FFIGE.

ARTHUR H "WARD MADISON, OF REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA.

MARBLE-SIEOQTEB.

earner.

Application filed January 14, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. MADISON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Eedlands, in the county of San Bernardino and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Marble-Shooter, of which the following is a description.

My invention while capable of discharging various projectiles for different games or contests, is more particularly intended for embodiment in a device for shooting the taw in playing marbles, and the general object of the invention is to provide a shooter presenting a seat for the article to be projected and provided with handles to be grasped for holding the shooter, the handles being relatively movable and the relative movement controlling a spring for exerting a projecting force on the article; together with means to control the spring and to release the same for the projecting move ment.

The above and other objects as will appear are attained by the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter particularly described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, it being understood that the illustrations are merely practical means for carrying the invention into effect.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a marble shooter embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a front view;

Fig. 4 is a partly sectional side elevation showing the parts before the spring is placed under tension;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view showing the spring stressed and ready to be released for discharging the projectile;

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view on the line 6-6, Fig. 1;

F i 7 is a perspective view of one of the leaves of the spring employed in one form of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a perspective View illustrating a modification.

In carrying out my invention in accordance with the illustrated example, a base 10 is provided and formed at the front end at 1O with a curved seat for the projectile A, here shown as in the form of a ball or marble as employed in playing the game of marbles. At the rear of the base 10, above the same, is a fixed handle 11 rigid with the Specification of Letters latent.

Fatented Apr. 20, 1920. Serial No. 271,145.

base through the medium of a web 11 rising from said base. Extending upwardly and forwardly from the front end of the handle 11 and web 11 is an arm 13, to the upper end of which is pivoted as by a pin l i, a second handle 12. The handle 12 is under the pressure of a spring 15 coiled about the pin 14, one end of said spring being carried beneath the handle 12, tending to e the same,'and the opposite end be ing fixed to the arm 13 as by passing said end laterally through a hole 17 in said arm. A spring 18 in the preferred form of the invention is secured at its upper end to the front of the lever 12 by a clamp plate 19 and screws 20 or the like. The lower end of the spring extends into the base 10 rearward of said seat 10 to lie adjacent to the seated marble or ball A. The projectile, preferably, is in the form of a steel ball and in practice the base 10 is magnetized for holding the ball on the seat 1O without other positive holding means. trigger 21 is provided to control the lower end of the spring, said trigger and the adjacent end of he spring being accommodated in a longitudinal slot 10 in the base, the trigger being pivoted between its ends to the base by a transverse pin 22. The seat 10 is formed by the sides of thebase at the forward end of the slot 10 and the seat at the opposite sides of the slot is preferably beveled as at 10 to permit the ball to be partially received in said slot. The trigger is formed with a lateral handle 23, and is under the pressure of a suitable spring 24 here shown as in the form of a wire having its coiled ends fast on the pin 22, said spring bearing aganst t e top of the trigger forward of the pivot, tending to hold the trigger in engagement with the lower end of the spring 18. Any suitable formation is given to the lower end of the spring and the adjacent end of the trigger toelfect an engagement between the spring and trigger, there being shown as one example of means for the purpose, a depending nose 25 on the trigger adapted to be engaged by the upturned or hooked lower end 26 of said spring.

With the described construction the marble having been seated on the base at the front, the device is grasped by the handles 11, 1 and the relative movement of the handle 12 and its pivot 14 will serve to stress the spring 18, the trigger retaining its engagement with the spring, and the latter serving to take a bowed form as indicated in Fig. 5 and in contact with the ball or marble A at the back of the latter. With the spring thus stressed the trigger 21 may be rocked on its pivot by the thumb of the user pressing rearwa 'dly on the handle thereby disengaging the end 26 of the spring from the trigger and permitting the spring to react, to thereby displace the ball A and project the same.

The spring 18 is preferably made up of two or more leaves, three being shown of dilferent lengths, and in practice, one leaf may be arranged to be moved to a position to function with the remainder of the spring or to a position to be out of action and out of the influence of the lever arm 12. Thus, the back leaf 18 may, as shown in Fig. 7, be formed with a hole 18 to receive one screw 20 and with a lateral slot 18 to engage the other screw 90, whereby said leaf may be swung from a position at the back of the spring and in line with the other leaves to dispose said leaf transversely to the remaining leaves and thus exerting no tension. By throwing the leaf 18 out of action, obviously the strength of the spring will be reduced whereby to modify the projecting force exerted on the ball.

In the form shown in Fig. 8, the base 10 has a short hook-shaped handle 11 and a larger handle 12 corresponding with the handle 12. The trigger 21 is pivoted as at 22* in the base and projection :25 corresponding essentially with the projection 25 engages an upturned hook 126" of a central loop 18 formed in a spring 18*, said spring being coiled about a pivot pinlt of the handle 12, the coils being disposed at each side of the handle and the ends of the spring being made fast in any suitable manner respectively to the base 10. and to the pivot shaft 14.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated examples constitute practical embodiments of my invention I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I

its

claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A shooter of the class described. including a stationary seat for the article to be projected, a spring strip extending at one end adjacent to said seat and adapted to project the article, a trigger engageable by the said end of the spring to hold the latter adjacent to said projectile seat, and means for bending said springto stress the same when engaging the trigger, said trigger bemg movable to release the stressed spring.

2. A shooter of the class described, including a stationary seat for the article to be projected, a spring strip having one end disposed adjacent to said stationary seat, a trigger having a member normally engaging said end of the spring to hold the latter adjacent to said seat, and movable means at the opposite end of said spring to bend the same to stress said spring while in engagement with the trigger, said trigger being subject to the tension of the spring when stressed and being movable to disengage and release the spring.

3. A'shoeter of the class described, including'a seat for the article to be projected, relatively movable hand es forming" the means to hold the shooter, spring means to project the article, said means being adapted to be stressed by a relative movement of the handles, and a trigger engageable with the spring means to hold the same while being stressed, said trigger being movable to a position to release the stressed spring.

it. A shooter of the class described, including a stationary seat for the article to be projected, spring means adjacent said stationary seat one end for projecting the article, a handle secured to the opposite end of said spring, a'second handle, said handles relatively movable to stress the spring, and

a trigger movable to release the stressed spring; 7 j V 5. A shooter of the class described, including a seat for the article to be projected, a

spring adapted to displace the article and project the same, meansto stress said spring,

and means to release the stressed spring, said spring comprising a plurality of leaves, one of said leaves being movable to a position to function with the remainder of the spring, or to a position to be outlof action and out of the influence of the means to stress the spring.

6. A shooter of the class described, having a stationary seat thereon at thefront for the article to be projected, a sprin having a free end adjacent to the seatat the rear, said spring adapted to be stressed and deformed while contacting with the projectile on the stationary seat, means to stress said sprin and means torelease the stressed spring.

7. A shooter of the class described including a magnetized seat for the article to'be projected, and means to project'said article.

ARTHUR EDWVARD MADISON. 

